2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the demand for qualified construction managers will grow eight percent between 2021 and 2031. It is anticipated that much of this demand will be generated by construction projects funded by the Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Although requirements may vary, publicly funded construction projects are often required to meet participation goals for Minority-owned Business Enterprises (MBEs). The increased demand for construction managers created by the IIJA will likely lead to increased demand for minority construction managers. Increased demand without sufficient supply leads to shortages.
Potential employers often use completion of a formal education program as a screening criterion to deem an entry level candidate as “qualified.” Therefore, undergraduate construction education programs are likely to be called upon to produce qualified construction managers to meet the burgeoning demand. Further, there will likely also be a need for these programs to increase the percentages of minority graduates to provide sufficient numbers of MBE contractors to meet local, state, and federal targets.
This paper aims to determine whether existing four-year construction management higher education programs are producing sufficient numbers of minority graduates to support increasing construction manager demand. Graduation rate data collected from colleges and/or universities with four-year undergraduate degrees in construction management education in a specified geographic area will be used to investigate whether existing programs will be able to produce sufficient numbers of minority graduates to increase the number of qualified, entry level, minority construction managers available to meet growing demand. Regression analysis will be used to identify any trends that might exist in the number of students enrolling in and successfully completing construction education programs as well as trends that might exist among minority populations.